Hargreaves Lansdown reveals their top stock-picking fund managers

• Investment success is driven by talent, not trends or short-term luck.
• Our analysis identifies fund managers with exceptional stock-picking records.
• Five fund managers with standout long-term performance.
  

Kate Marshall, lead investment analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown:

“When it comes to investing, it’s easy to be dazzled by short-term wins or trends. But what really matters is skill. Anyone can get lucky on a few bets, but true success lies within a consistent, repeatable investment process.

For funds investing in company shares, our research team looks for investors with an ability to pick stocks that perform well over time. Fund managers who add value by genuinely understanding companies, not just riding market tides or styles, offer an edge and the potential for returns in various market conditions.

Our quantitative analysis aims to identify great stock pickers for our Wealth Shortlist of funds chosen by our analysts for their long-term performance potential. Below you’ll find the five Wealth Shortlist fund managers their analysis shows have the best stock-picking records.

These managers have added the most value in terms of their investment style and the sectors they invest in combined over the past decade. This means they’ve demonstrated an ability to invest in companies that have gone on to perform well, regardless of their investment style (for example, growth or value investing) or how the broader sector a company sits in has done.

These active investors are willing to invest quite differently from others. This improves their chance of performing better than their peers or benchmark over the long term.”

The funds are listed in alphabetical order.

Artemis Global Income

This fund aims to deliver income and growth by investing in companies from around the world. Jacob de Tusch-Lec, the fund’s manager, uses a disciplined value investment approach that’s helped drive long-term returns. As a natural contrarian, he invests in out-of-favour companies with recovery potential, though it means it hasn’t done as well when growth stocks, including some of America’s largest tech firms, have outperformed.

Artemis UK Smaller Companies

As its name suggests, this fund focuses on smaller companies based in the UK. Smaller companies typically have more growth potential than larger ones and are often overlooked by most investors, which means there’s plenty of opportunity for those prepared to scratch below the surface. It provides the potential to add value above investors focused on heavily scrutinised larger firms.

Baillie Gifford American

This fund invests in disruptive businesses with strong growth prospects based in the US. The managers’ growth style of investing aims to benefit from investing in exceptional businesses and holding them for long enough to reap the rewards. They invest in a relatively small number of companies in the belief there are only a handful of genuinely great businesses that will thrive over the long term.

Jupiter India

This fund aims for long-term growth by investing in companies that are primarily based in the world’s fourth-largest economy. As India’s economy and population continues to grow, plenty of opportunities for active fund managers are presenting themselves.

The fund’s managers invest across the market and in companies of all sizes, with a bias towards small and medium-sized firms, allowing them to take full advantage of opportunities on offer. 

Stewart Investors Indian Subcontinent All Cap

This fund aims to achieve long-term growth by investing in high-quality companies that mostly carry out business in India, as well as Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Its philosophy is built on stewardship, where the fund managers treat investors’ capital as their own and strive to grow wealth over the long term while minimising losses during periods of uncertainty. They focus on companies that could contribute to, and benefit from, sustainable development.

Annual percentage growth